The Last Bargain

Chapter XXIX: Shin's Mirror

The air around Shin felt colder, heavier, as he stared at his own reflection—his other self—standing just a few feet away. The figure wore his face, his clothes, but there was something different in its eyes: a cruel light, a mocking smile that twisted the familiar features into something almost unrecognizable.

"Are you afraid?" the mirror Shin taunted, its voice dripping with disdain. "Afraid to face the truth? To see yourself for who you really are?"

Shin clenched his fists, anger simmering beneath the surface. "I'm not afraid of you," he replied, though he could feel his heart pounding in his chest. "You're just a reflection. You're not real."

The reflection laughed, a hollow, grating sound that echoed through the mirrored chamber. "Not real?" it scoffed. "I'm the most real thing you've ever faced. I'm everything you try to hide, everything you're too scared to admit... even to yourself."

Shin's breath quickened, his eyes narrowing. "I know who I am," he insisted. "I've made mistakes, but I'm not hiding from them. I'm here to make things right."

The mirror Shin took a step closer, its smile widening. "Make things right?" it echoed mockingly. "Or is that just another excuse? Another way to avoid looking at the mess you've made of your life?"

Shin felt his stomach twist with a familiar ache of doubt. "What do you know?" he shot back, his voice tight. "You're just an illusion, a trick of this place. You don't know anything about me."

The mirror Shin tilted its head, its eyes gleaming with a cruel amusement. "I know everything about you," it whispered. "I know how you feel when you look in the mirror every morning... wondering if you've made the right choices, if you're on the right path. I know the guilt you carry, the shame that eats away at you. I know... because I am you."

Shin felt his heart skip a beat, a surge of anger mixing with the unease coursing through him. "I've made peace with my choices," he insisted, his voice firm. "I left my family to find my own way, to find my own purpose. I don't regret that."

The reflection laughed again, softer this time, almost pitying. "Oh, but you do," it whispered. "You regret it every day. You regret not being there when they needed you... when she needed you."

Shin's chest tightened. "My mother..." he whispered, his voice barely audible.

The mirror Shin's smile grew sharper, its eyes glittering with malice. "Yes, your mother," it said softly. "Dying alone, without her son by her side. You think she was proud of you? Proud of the choices you made? She died disappointed in you... ashamed of what you had become."

Shin felt a tear slip down his cheek, his heart aching with the familiar pain. "No," he murmured, his voice cracking. "She... she understood. She knew why I left..."

"Did she?" the reflection pressed, its voice low and relentless. "Or did she die wondering why her son abandoned her, why he ran away when things got hard?"

Shin's hands trembled, his breath coming in ragged gasps. "I... I didn't abandon her," he stammered. "I had to find my own way..."

The mirror Shin stepped even closer, its face inches from Shin's. "But you never found it, did you?" it whispered. "You've been wandering ever since, lost in your own guilt, pretending you have a purpose. Pretending you're a hero, when all you are... is a coward."

Shin's eyes burned with unshed tears, his chest heaving with emotion. "I'm not a coward," he said, though his voice shook. "I'm here... I'm fighting... for Raito, for my friends..."

The reflection sneered. "Fighting?" it mocked. "You're not fighting for them. You're fighting to prove something to yourself, to erase the shame you feel every time you look in the mirror and see a man who ran away."

Shin felt his knees weaken, the weight of the words pressing down on him like a heavy stone. "No..." he whispered, his voice trembling. "That's not true..."

The mirror Shin's face softened, almost pitying. "Isn't it?" it asked gently. "You've spent your whole life running... running from your family, your responsibilities, your fears. And now, you're here, trying to save Raito, because you think it will make up for all the times you ran."

Shin swallowed hard, his throat dry. "I'm not running," he insisted, though the words felt weak, hollow. "I'm not... I'm here..."

The reflection smiled, its eyes gleaming. "But you are running, Shin," it whispered. "You're running from the truth. You're running from yourself."

Shin closed his eyes, feeling the weight of his doubts pressing down on him, the guilt and fear clawing at his insides. He wanted to scream, to shout, to fight back, but his voice seemed trapped in his throat.

"Look at you," the mirror Shin continued, its tone growing harsher. "Pathetic. Weak. Always second-guessing yourself, always doubting. Do you really think you can save anyone? Do you really think you can save Raito?"

Shin's eyes snapped open, a spark of defiance flaring in his chest. "I can," he said, his voice stronger now. "I will save him. No matter what it takes."

The reflection's smile faded, replaced by a look of cold anger. "You think you're strong enough?" it hissed. "You think you're worthy?"

Shin took a deep breath, steadying himself. "I don't need to prove myself to you," he said quietly. "I know who I am. I know why I'm here."

The mirror Shin's eyes narrowed, its face twisting with fury. "Then prove it," it snarled. "Prove you're not a coward. Prove you're not a failure."

The air around them grew colder, and Shin felt a surge of energy building, crackling through the chamber like a storm gathering strength. He knew the fight was coming, that he would have to face this twisted version of himself... but he was ready.

He would face this mirror, this dark reflection of his doubts and fears. He would prove, once and for all, that he was not the man it claimed he was.

The reflection's eyes gleamed, and it stepped back, raising its hands as the air shimmered with power.

Shin braced himself, his heart pounding, his breath steady. "I'm not running anymore," he whispered, his voice firm. "I'm ready."

The battle had not yet begun, but Shin could feel the tension crackling in the air, the sense that everything was about to explode into motion.

And he knew that he would not back down.